Bob Sapp is a born entertainer. He’s got an engaging personality and a great laugh. Combine that with his unusual physical size and you’ve got something, certainly enough for a career as a B-Movie villain. Sapp was going to give Hollywood a try. While in Hollywood, Sapp was within a signature of a WWE deal. They planned to bring him in and use him both as a pro wrestler and as wrestling’s representative in the world of MMA.

“K-1 was playing games, games that would consequently lead me to have one of the best years of my life and would save my career. Because I came over here and left K-1, got ready to sign with WWE, a huge contract with WWE, and they threatened to sue WWE. WWE backed out, thank God they did, because my partner was going to be Chris Benoit,” Sapp said. After a narrow escape from being partnered with a child murdering pro wrestler, Sapp’s persistent good luck led him further and further up the Hollywood food chain.

“I was supposed to be on the Anna Nicole Smith show, that’s why I first went out to California. It didn’t work out because she was sick and didn’t show up for the scene the next day. However, I caught the attention of one of the producers from the movie Elektra. I did Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel. That caught the producers from The Longest Yard. I’ve done 8 Hollywood movies so far and I just did Pros versus Joes,” Sapp said. “I’m 33 years old. Everything I’ve done, not only has it not required a job application, but every job I’ve touched has manged to make me well over six figures. Or in that six figure range. My first pro wrestling contract was like $120,000, you’ve got the fighting which is well over a $1 million, you’ve got all the movie work which is now adding up to be over $1 million. You’ve got the NFL in there too which is over a $1 million. It’s like ‘Bob, you’ve lived a huge and an incredible life.’ Everything I’ve done has been a kid’s dream job.”

Back in Japan, K-1 tried desperately to find the next Bob Sapp. Instead of looking for the most skilled and charismatic performers they could find, they tried instead to find another comical giant. Sapp considers the legion of giants and showmen to be acknowledgment of what he’s brought to the sport. The “giant” is back and it all started with Bob Sapp.

“K-1 does it, Pride’s done it, and boxing’s done it when they brought in their big Russian guy. That was there version of Bob Sapp. It’s funny to me, because that’s not what’s making me popular. They’ve had big guys, bigger guys, stronger guys. It’s just the sincerity. I don’t have the ego that all the other fighter’s have. I’m not always 24/7 talking about fighting and I want to hurt this guy. I’m not like that. A lot of these fighters are walking around tattooed up with a Mr.T starter kit, running around with two vicious dogs on chains. They want to scare the world. Team Killa! Team Criminal! Team Felony! It’s just like everything they talk about is almost sheer evil,” Sapp said. “One of the main criticisms is that ‘Bob’s an entertainer, he’s not a fighter.’ Now when you talk about fighting you go ‘It’s really not about the fight it’s about the entertainment.’ Wait a minute. Ya’ll didn’t start saying that until I came on to the scene. Fighting’s been here. I didn’t create fighting. They’re telling me ‘It’s all about the entertainment.’ Don’t tell me! I’m mimicked throughout the fighting world. It’s great. What’s it led to? You’ve got Brock Lesnar in there, the big pro wrestler. Entertainment, entertainment. This is really a huge tribute to what I’ve been able to accomplish.”

The break from K-1 also allows Sapp to have his first cage fight in his home country, in his hometown of Seattle, Washington, for Scott Coker’s Strikeforce promotion. This will be Strikeforce’s first journey out of California and they are taking no chances with their meal ticket fighter. Sapp faces another K-1 giant Jan Nortje who had a losing MMA record. It’s a fight Sapp should win.

“Bob Sapp is going to headline. We have a relationship with him because of K-1. He’s from Seattle so it’s a no brainer. Why not do a show in Seattle since we have a rapport with this boxing promoter, the casino there, and we can have Bob headline. Another fighter Maurice Smith, a legend in the sport, is from Seattle also. It made sense. It’s a big market, why not go there? It’s a good way to expand,” Afromowitz said. If the show was a success, it would be possible for Strikeforce to run the Pacific Northwest on a regular basis, using hometown favorite Sapp in the role filled by Cung Le in San Jose. “It all depends on what Bob wants really. If certain offers come in for a studio film, you never know. He may just decide to pursue that route and focus on his career in Hollywood. Or maybe this fight will reignite his passion for fighting. He’s at a crossroads and it’s really all up in the air. There will definitely be opportunities. Bob is great for Hollywood, he’s great for mixed martial arts, he’s a very nice guy, very well spoken, and he’s got a lot to offer.”

Sapp is pleased to be fighting in front of his hometown fans and his status as a Washington Huskies legend has opened a lot of doors and helped provide a ton of local media attention, including a front page article in the Seattle Times.

“I love it, I think it’s great. I can’t wait to really perform for them. Of course I’ve got all this pressure because everyone in the world is calling me for tickets and I can’t give them out. Scott’s doing the right thing, he’s not telling me how many tickets I’m going to get and I know it’s going to be like four. Everyone’s calling me tickets, tickets, tickets, and I’m like ‘Dude, I can’t do any tickets,’” Sapp said. “I know Scott Coker from K-1 USA, so this pretty much is still in the K-1 family and we’re fighting someone from K-1 so it’s the same stuff. It’s still Japan trying to conquer America and doing the best they can. I’m still the most highly viewed and popular fighter out there. I’m just going to try to make it rock and roll.”

What comes next is anybody’s guess. On New Year’s 2007, Sapp showed he was still a big ratings draw, getting the highest rating of any MMA fight that night for his comedy match with Olugun. He’s negotiating with K-1 for a full-time return to the Japanese scene, looking to do a reality show with Spike TV, and continuing a regular television schedule in Japan, and wrestling for the HUSTLE promotion. After his early experiences and struggles, Sapp is taking no chances with keeping all his eggs in a single basket.

“I learned a lesson from being unemployed to always keep that plan B, plan C, it goes all the way down to Z brother. If push comes to shove and all of this goes away, I’m fine, because I’ve got 95% of my money saved. I don’t have to worry about nothing,” Sapp said. “I live well beneath my means. I’m worth $7-10 million and I live off of around 50 G’s a year. That’s just the way I was taught and the way I was raised.”